Satire Methods

Satire Methods

1. hyperbole: very dramatized exaggeration that is usually not taken seriously.

1.1. "Whom the young lady refused ever to marry because he could only ever give proof of seventy-one quarterings." (page 3) Seventy one quarterings is an impossible lineage to have, which is what Voltaire is satirizing. Also, 71 quartering is impossible, so it is an example of exaggeration.

1.2. Pangloss's profession: Metaphysico-theologico-cosmo-nigology. The last word nigology, rules out all the others, because it means "nothing." (page 4) Voltaire satirizes Pangloss's profession- although it looks like something great, it actually means nothing. Also, this is an example of hyperbole because his profession has been exaggerated.

1.3. Governor's name: Don Fernando d'Ibarra y Figueora y Mascarenes y Lampourdos y Souza. (Pg 32) Voltaire satirizes the long name that Spaniards have through exaggeration. This is a type of exaggeration because although Spanish names may be long, this particular name is too long.

2. Contradictions/Juxtaposition: combination of two things that are opposites of each other. Usually to show contrasting views.

2.1. "A passer-by who had never been baptized, a good Anabaptist named Jacques..." (page 9) He has never been baptized, but he's still an Anabaptist? This is one of the mockeries that Voltaire makes of the Church (He mocks the contradictory actions of a member of the Church). Also, this is an example of a contradiction because Anabaptists are still baptized when they become an adult.

2.2. "Living with the philosopher Pangloss, the philosophical Martin..." (page 90) This is an example of juxtaposition, for the two philosophers that hold the most extreme ideals are living together, sitting next to each other. Martin believes that God has abondaned the world, Pangloss believed that all is for the best. Voltaire may be perhaps, satirizing the idea of "extreme ideals," and their fallacies.

3. Double/Tripled Layer Meanings- a word or a phrase that has multiple meanings.

3.2. The name Pangloss. 1. In latin, it means "all tongue," which means "all talk." However, 2. Pangloss is also may have been referring to the famous philosopher, Rosseau (Page 122). If Voltaire wrote Pangloss to represent Rosseau, it would have been to mock Rosseau's fundamental principles/theories that he had built up, or to say that he is "all talk."

4. Criticism +Funny: humorously making fun of an idea: an idea that is usually very common, or clichéd.

4.1. "For men are not born wolves, yet they have become wolves." (Pg 12) Voltaire is criticizing the natural "goodness" a person is born with. Voltaire believes that all humans are born "evil." Also, it criticizes the foundation of both men and women- which is evil. Therefore it is an example of criticism.

4.2. "Dropped her handkerchief, Candide picked it up; innocently she took his hand in hers, innecently the young man kissed the young lady's hand..." (Pg 5) This is satirizing the "traditional-love" which is what everyone does. Picks up a handkerchief, accidently touch the woman's hand, look at each others faces, and fall in love. Candide is satirizing the insipid-tradition of love. This is an example of criticism because it mocks the traditional type of love that most people seek to have.